Eyeleting-machine.



C. A. KUTCHER. EYELETING mAcHlNg.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. I 1| 1916. LUL Patented Dec.12,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I- C. A.. KUTCHER. EYELETING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man Auem. 1915.

Patented Deo. 12, 1916.

5mm/wo@ C. A. KUTCHER.

EYELETING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AuG.II, 191s.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- m.; I I

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CHARLES A. KUTCHER, OF SHERIDAN, WYOMING.

EYELETING-MACHIN E.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec: 12, 1916.

Application filed August 11, 1916. Serial No. 114,445.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. KUTOHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sheridan, in the county of Sheridan and State of Wyoming, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Eyeleting- Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in eyeleting machines which are provided with means for automatically feeding the eyelets to the eyelet setters.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a machine of this character so constructed that when its operating handle is depressed to punch a hole in the articles to be fastened, the automatic feeder is brought into position to have one of its eyelets removed by the eyelet setting plunger, when the handle is released, and when the handle" is raised the eyelet caught by the plunger will be crimped in the hole formed by the punch.

An additional object is to provide a machine having means for disengaging the automatic eyelet feed so as to permit the device to be used merely as a punch.

Still another object is to provide a simply constructed machine having its parts arranged in a new and improved relation to accomplish more efficient results.

With these and other objects in view, the invention resides in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will be later described and claimed and shown in the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with this invention, the parts of which are in their normal positions, some of them being broken away and shown in section; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the position of the parts during the punching operation; Fig. 3 is a similar view showing` the position of the parts when clamping a number of sheets together; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the opposite side of the device, some of the parts being broken away and in section; Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a similar view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the completed machine; Fig. 8 is a pere spective view of the discharge end of the eyelet runway; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the spring for holding the eyelets in the runway; Fig. 10 is a detail vertical sectional view showing the plunger in the act of clamping several sheets of paper; Fig. ll is a similar` view of the eyelet carrying plunger; and Fig. 12 is a detail vertical sectional view through the eyelet runway.

Referring more particularly to the several iigures of the drawings wherein similar reference characters indicate like parts, 1 designates the frame upon which the operating mechanism is mounted, said frame consisting` of a hollow base 2 having a separable top 3 with which an upright supporting member 4 is integrally united, said last mentioned portion being approximately triangular in shape and about one-half inch more or less in thickness.

Formed integrally with the upright straight edge of the portion i is a rectangular block 5 which is also integrally connected to the top 3, while disposed over said block and similarly connected to said straight upright edge is a substantially rectangular anvil 6. This member t and the part 3 upon which it is mounted together with the block 5 and anvil 6 are preferably cast in one piece so as to produce a strong yet comparatively light frame.

Formed vertically through the anvil 6 adjacent one edge thereof is a bore 7 in which a cylindrical punch 8 is reciprocally mounted. The lower or active end of this punch 8 is reduced as shown at Sand adapted to be disposed in an aperture 10 when the former is depressed. This aperture 10 is formed vertically in the block 5 and extends partially therethrough, its lower end communicating with a discharge opening 1l which provides an exit for the punchings. The upper end of the punch 8 is bifurcated and receives a link l2, said link being pivoted thereto and between the ears 13 which are formed on the under -side of an operating lever or handle lei- The latter has an enlarged bifurcated head 15 formed at one end between the furcations of which the upper end of the member t is disposed. Said head is pivoted to the member 4 adjacent the straight edge of the latter by means of the pivot pin or screw 16. One of the furcations of the head 15 has a rather long` finger 17 formed integrally therewith, the finger' having an eye 18 formed in its free end for the reception of one end of a helical contracting spring 19, the other end of which is connected to an eye which is formed on the top 3 of the base. The handle 14 also has an L-shaped member 21 connected therete, by means'of a link 22. The upright arm 23 of the member 21, which is considerably longer than the arm 24 is disposed in a vertical guide formed throughthe block 5 and anvil 6 adjacent their connections with the portion 4. Said guide which is in the form of anV opening also extends through the top 3 of the. base 2 and into the latter, where the short arm 24 is disposed'beneath the block 5.

The free end of this short arm 24 terminates directly below a'vertical opening 25 formed through the block 5 and has connected thereto an upright plunger 26 which forms the movable portion Vof theV eyelet set. t will be noted that the plunger 26 is disposed substantially parallel te the long arm 23 and while not nearly so long as the latter, eX- tends up intothe block 5, and movable pin 27 extending abovethe top thereof. This pin 27 is slidablydisposed inasoclret formed lin the end of the plunger 26 and is normally held outwardly by means of an extension spring 28. This pin 1s Yadapted to receive and hold in position an eyelet when the machine is about'to be used to set an eyelet in one or more sheets of paper or the like.

YWith the structure thus far described it will be seen that when the sheets of paper which are to be fixed together are placed between the block 5 and the anvil 6 and the operating handle depressed against the tension of the spring 19, the active end 9 of the punch 8 will perforate the paper so that the eyelet may be readily disposed through the several sheets. This down stroke of the lever 14 also causes the pin 27 of the plunger Y 26 to be lowered below the top of the block 5 so that it doesnot interfere with the placing of the paper between the latter and the anvll. Assuming that an eyelet has been placed on the pin 27 the paper after being punched is moved toward the left so as to dispose the perforation which has been formed over the pin and the eyelet thereon, whereupon the handle 14 vis raised, thus moving the plunger towardrthe anvil 6 which carries the other portion 29 of the eyelet set. Continued upward movement of the handle clamps the Y eyelet between the end of the plunger and the Y portion 29 and sets it in proper position in portion is secured to said portion 4 by rivets or the like.

As hereinbefore mentioned the machine is equipped with the means for automatically feeding the eyelets to the plunger. This feeding mechanism consists of a raceway 31 which is pivoted to the portion 4 and designed to move into and out of a slot 32 which is formed horizontally through the block 5 and intersecting the vertical opening The raceway 31 has a T-shaped channel extending throughout its length, and is constructed of a base plate 33 of suitable width, 'to the outer edges of which are secured a pair of spacing strips 34, the latter carrying ,the liange strips 35. Secured to the opposite sides of the raceway 31, preferably to the strips vis a pair of right angular arms 36 which project upwardly and have disposed therebetween one portion of an oli"- set member 37, the other portion of which is pivoted by a screw 38 to the part 4. The raceway is so pivoted by means of its arms 36 and the member 37 and is so curved that a spring 39 connected thereto and the top 3 of the base 2 will readily force its lower end into the slot 32 whenever a stop which will later be described, is removed.

The feeding mechanism is moved out of the way of the other parts when the operating handle 14 is raised in order to set an eyelet. This is accomplished by means of a linger 4() which is carried by the oliset member 37 and a shoulder 4l which engages it, said shoulder being formed by notching one of the fin-cations of the head 15 as shown at 42. The position of the parts as they will appear when the operating handle 14 is raised is shown in Fig. 3. When, however, the handle 14 is released the springs 19 and 39 return all of the parts of -the machine into position so that a new eyelet may be set. As the inverted T-shaped channel which is formed in the raceway 31 is the same size throughout its length a suitable retaining spring 43 is disposed at the lower end thereof in order to prevent the eyelets from slipping from the feeder by gravity. This spring 43 is substantially U- shaped and its arms 44 adjacent their connection with the cross bar 45 are disposed in diagonal notches 46. The arms 44 have a. tendency to spring toward each other and therefore the spring is readily held in operative position with the arms overlying the top of the lower end of the raceway. The free ends of the arms are curved inwardly toward each other so that it is necessary to forcibly pull each eyelet therebetween when removing it from the channel.

As previously pointed out the plunger 26 is lowered when the operating handle is forced downwardly. This downward movement of the plunger and the L-shaped mem` ber 21 which connects it with the handle 14- llO also causes a stop 47 to be lowered. This rod is reciprocally mounted in an aperture formed in the top 3 of the base 2 and into the block 5 where it communicates with the slot 32. The upper end of the rod projects into said slot 32 and prevents the end of the raceway 81 from fully entering said slot. The rod is normally held in raised position by means of a spring 48 secured to the under side of the top 3 by means of a clamping screw and nut 49, one end of said spring being disposed in a transverse opening formed in the lower portion of said rod. This rod is forced to move downwardly against the tension of the spring by means of a pin 50 which it carries on its lower end for engagement by the arm 24 of the member 21.

The operation of the device is as follows: Assuming that the raceway of the feeder is loaded with several eyelets the several sheets of paper which are to be clamped together are placed between the block 5 and anvil 6 and punched as hereinbefore described. Downward movement of the operating handle for operating the punch has also caused the plunger 26 to be lowered, thereby causing the stop rod 47 to move downwardly, which movement allows th-e lower end of the raceway 31 to fully enter the slot 32 until its outermost eyelet is directly over the pin 27 of the plunger 26. The spring 39 causes this movement of the raceway as soon as the stop 47 is removed. W/hen, however, the handle 14 is released the spring 19 causes it to move back to its former position, thus returning the punch S and the plunger 26 to their former positions. The shoulder 41 of the handle 14 also engages the finger 4() and moves the feeding mechanism out of the slot beyond the stop rod 47 whose spring 48 causes it to again become active and prevent the movement of the raceway through the slot 32. This simultaneous movement of the plunger 26 and the raceway 31 causes an eyelet to be caught on the pin 27 and held thereon after said raceway is moved beyond the stop rod. The next operation consists in setting the eyelet which has been picked up by the nin 27 in the paper which has been punched. The paper is disposed over the plunger 26 as before mentioned, whereupon the handle is moved upwardly into the position shown in Fig. 3 thus carrying with it the plunger and eyelet and the paper which is to be clamped together. This upward movement clamps the eyelet on the paper, the feeding mechanism being simultaneously moved rearwardly so that it cannot interfere with the clamping operation. After this movement has talren place the machine is ready to be used to fasten another eyelet in the paper, the operations of the several parts being the same as previously set forth.

Another important feature of my invention consists in means for preventing the operation of the automatic feeding mechay nism. This consists of a slotted plate 51 which is slidably mounted on the rear face of the anvil 6, a pin or screw 52 projecting from the anvil and through the slot 53 of the plate for this purpose. Between the head of the pin or screw and the plate 51 is a coiled spring 53 for holding said plate in engagement with the anvil at all times. N ow, when it is desired to throw the feeding mechanism out of play the operating handle is raised slightly so as to move the lower end of the raceway from beneath the end of the plate 51 so that the latter may be forced downwardly over the rear entrance to the slot 32 as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. This arrangement allows the machine to be operated as a punch but prevents the plunger pin 27 from picking eyelets from the raceway so that it is unnecessary to unload the feeding mechanism whenever it i's desired to suspend the operation thereof.

T claim as my invention.

l. In an eye-leting machine, a support, an anvil carried thereby, an operating lever pivoted to said support over the anvil, an L-shaped member connected by one arm to said lever, the other arm extending beneath said anvil, and an eyelet setting plunger for coactionl with said anvil fixed to the free end of said last mentioned arm and disposed substantially parallel to the irst mentioned arm of said member.

2. In an eyeleting machine, a block, a support, an anvil mounted on said support over said block, to said support, an L-shaped member connected by one arm to said lever, the other arm extending beneath said block, an eyeleting setting plunger for coaction with said anvil fixed to the free end of said last mentioned arm and disposed substantially parallel to the first mentioned arm, and apunch connected with the lever and movable toward and away from said block, said plunger being movable below the surface of said block when the punch is brought into contact with the latter.

3. In an eyeleting machine, a support, a block connected thereto, said block having a horizontal slot and a vertical opening formed therethrough and intersecting each other, an anvil disposed over said block, an operating lever pivoted to said support, an eyelet setting plunger disposed in said vertical opening and connected to said lever, an eyelet feeder pivoted to the support and adapted to be moved into said slot, and a depressible stop operable by said plunger to prevent said feeder entering said slot.

4. ln an eyeleting machine, a support, a block connected thereto, said block having a horizontal slot and a vertical opening an operating lever pivoted' llO formed therethrough intersecting each other, said block also having an aperture opening into said slot, an anvil disposed over said block, an operating lever pivoted to said support, an eyelet setting plunger disposed in said vertical opening and connected to said'lever, an eyelet feeder pivoted to said support and adapted to be moved into said slot, and a stop rod reciprocatorily mounted in said aperture, and a finger projecting from said rod for engagement by said plunger, whereby said stop rod is moved out of operative position when said plunger is lowered.

5. In an eyeleting machine, a support, a block connected thereto, said block having a horizontal slot and a vertical opening formed therethrough and intersecting each other, said block also having an aperture opening' into said slot, an anvil disposed over said block, an operating lever pivoted to said support, an L-shaped member connected by one arm to said lever', the otherv arm extending' beneath said anvil, an eye-let setting plunger for coaction with said anvil and disposed in said vertical opening', said plunger being secured to the free end of the last'mentioned arm of said L-shaped member, an eyelet feeder pivoted to the support and adapted to be moved into said slot, a stop rod reciprocatorily mounted in said aperture, and a linger projecting from said rod for engagement by said L-shaped member, whereby said rod will be moved out of operative position when said plunger is lowered.V

6. In an eyeleting machine, a. support, a block connected thereto, said block having' a horizontal slot and a vertical opening' formed therethrough and intersecting each other, said block also having' an aperture opening into saidV slot, an anvil disposed over said block, an operating' lever pivoted to said support, an l.shaped member connected by one arm to said lever, the other arm extending' beneath said anvil, an eyelet setting plunger for coaction with said anvil and disposed in said vertical opening, said plunger being secured to the free end of the last mentioned arm of said L-shaped member, an eyelet feeder pivoted to the support and adapted to be moved into said slot, a depressib-le stop disposed in said aperture and operable by said L-shaped member, and a punch connected with the lever and movable toward and away from said block, said plunger being moved below the surface of said block when the punch is brought into contact with the latter.

7. In an eyeleting machine, a support, a block connected thereto, said block having a horizontal slot and a vertical opening formed therethrough and intersecting' each other, an anvil disposed over said block, an operating lever pivoted to said support,

an eyelet setting plunger disposed in said Vvertical opening' and connected to said lever,

an eyelet feeder pivoted to the support and adapted to be moved into said slot, and a sliding plate movable to cover one side of said slot to prevent the entrance of said feeder.

8. In an eyeleting machine, a support, a block connected thereto, said block having a horizontal slot and ay vertical opening formed therethrough and intersecting each other, an anvil disposed over said block, an operating' lever pivoted to said support, an eyelet setting plunger disposed in said vertical opening and connected to said lever, an eyelet feeder pivoted to the support and adapted to be moved into said slot, a sliding plate movable to cover one side of said slot to prevent the entrance of said feeder, and a punch connected with the lever and movable toward and away from the block, said plunger being' movable below the surface of said block when the punch is brought into contact with the latter.

9. In an eyeleting machine, a support, a block connected thereto, said block having a horizontal slot and a wertical opening formed therethrough and intersecting each other, an anvil disposed over said block, an operating lever pivoted to said support, an eyelet setting plunger disposed in said vertical opening` and connected to said lever, an eyelet feeder pivoted to the support and adapted to be moved into said slot, a slotted plate movable to close one side of said slot to prevent the entrance of said feeder, a threaded stud projecting from said anvil and disposed in the slot in said plate, and a spring disposed around said stud between the head thereof and said plate, whereby said plate will be held in engagement with said anvil.

10. In an eyeleting machine, a support, a block connected thereto, said block having a horizontal slot and a vertical opening formed therein and intersecting each other, an anvil disposed over said slot, an operating lever pivoted to said support, said lever having a notch formed in one side thereof, an eyelet plunger disposed in said vertical opening and connected to said lever, an eyelet feeder comprising a. racei Tay, right angular arms secured on the opposite sides of the channel thereof, a connecting member pivoted to said support and between said arms, and a finger on said connecting member and disposed in said notch in the operating lever, whereby when said lever is moved to bring the plunger into engagement with said anvil, said eyelet feeder will be moved away from said block.

11. In an eyeleting machine, a support, a block connected thereto, said block having a horizontal slot and a vertical opening formed therein and intersecting each other,

an anvil disposed over said block, an operating lever pivoted to said support, an eyelet setting plunger disposed in said vertical opening and connected to said lever, an eyelet feeder pivoted to said support and comprising a raceway, the lower end of said raceway being adapted to enter said horizontal slot, said end of said raceway having its outer sides diagonally notched, and a U-shaped retaining spring disposed over the lower end of said raceway, the arms thereof being disposed in said diagonal notch, the cross arm of said spring engaging the under side of the feeder, the free ends of the arms of said spring being bent inwardly toward each other to aid in retaining eyelets in the raceway.

12. In an eyeleting machine, a support, an anvil, an eyelet setting plunger, means for operating said plunger, an eyelet feeder movable across the path of said plunger, a plate slidable on said anvil into the path of movement of said feeder to prevent the operation thereof, and means for holding said plate in adjusted position.

13. In a device of the class described, an anvil, an eyelet setting plunger, an eyelet feeder movable across the path of movement of said plunger, a vertically movable rod for intersecting the path of said feeder to retain the same in retracted position, a finger on said rod to be engaged by said plunger, and an operating handle for successively depressing said plunger and rod to permit said feeder to move across the path of movement of said plunger.

14. In a device of the class described, an anvil, an L-shaped member having one arm Copies ot' this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the disposed beneath said anvil, an operating lever having the other arm of said member connected thereto, an eyelet setting plunger carried by the free end of the first mentioned arm of said member, an eyelet feeder movable across the path of movement of said plunger, a vertically movable rod intersecting the path of movement of said feeder to retain the same in retracted position, and a finger on said rod to be engaged by the first mentioned arm of said l shaped member, said plunger and rod being successively depressed upon operation of said operating lever.

l5. In an eyeleting machine, a support, an anvil, an eyelet setting plunger, an eyelet feeder movable across the path of movement of said plunger and comprising a raceway, and an offset member pivoted to said vsupport and to said raceway, a stop to hold said feeder in retracted position, an operating handle for successively depressing said plunger and stop, whereby to permit said raceway to move across the path of movement of said plunger, a shoulder on said operating handle, and a finger on said offset member for engagement by said shoulder to return said feeder to its retracted position after said raceway has passed across the path of movement of said plunger.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES A.. KUTCHER.

Witnesses:

D. P. B. MARSHALL, H. GLENN KINSLEY.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

